From Gongwer
(The Attorney General on Monday) marked Sunshine Week with the release of the 2013 edition of “Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual.“
“Part of our mission to protect Ohio families includes protecting the public’s right to know and to hold their government accountable,” Mr. DeWine said in a statement. “The Ohio Attorney General’s Office offers many resources to help Ohioans access open government, including our Sunshine Laws Manual, Sunshine Laws trainings, and our Public Records Mediation Program.”
Mr. DeWine said the mediation program has been “a win-win for both local governments and those requesting records. Requesters get the information they seek and taxpayers avoid costly litigation.”
Established less than a year ago, the program has received 59 requests for mediation and 23 of those were resolved prior to going through mediation, the AG’s office reported. Of the seven mediations completed, six were successful. Of the requests for mediation that met program criteria and where the persons requesting the mediation chose to pursue their request to resolve the matter, the program has fully resolved 32 of the 38 disputes, or 84%.
